On March 8, 2022 — the same day that Katie Burrows' tenure as head coach for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball program ended after four seasons — Raven Thompson took to social media and announced her commitment to the Mocs.
At that point, Thompson knew nothing about what direction UTC was thinking in terms of its next coach, or even when that decision was going to be made. She had built a relationship with assistant coach Jon Goldberg and liked the school, so she ultimately decided to hang around and see who took over in Chattanooga.
That answer would eventually be Shawn Poppie, a former Virginia Tech assistant. Once he was hired and his staff got on campus, they decided to put Thompson through a workout to see just what she was capable of.
"It was a little nerve-wracking when I walked in the gym," Thompson said, "but I knew I had to do it."
Obviously, the workout went well, as has the season thus far for the Atlanta native, whose father Aubrey played college football as a tight end at Utah State and was signed by the Chicago Bears before spending a year with the Scottish Claymores of NFL Europe.
Through 15 games while playing as an undersized forward, the 5-foot-10 Thompson has averaged 13.3 points and a team-leading 7.9 rebounds while shooting a team-best 55% from the field for the Mocs (8-7), who face East Tennessee State (13-3) at 7 p.m. Thursday in Johnson City. It will be the Southern Conference opener for both teams.
"We've seen a kid who is super skilled," Poppie said. "She has an IQ to where she sees the game, too, faster than some of our seniors, and because of that, you knew she had a chance. When she first got here, she had to work on conditioning and she had to work on the speed of the game because she would take plays off through her career.
"We're asking a lot of her right now. We're asking her to score, we're asking her to defend and get the ball back to her and make a play, and I've got to find a way to create more space for the kid because she's special. When it gets easier for her, it'll be easier for the rest of them."
Surprisingly, UTC gave Thompson her only college basketball offer, although her bio on the Mocs' website notes she "received multiple offers" from college softball programs.
Maybe the lack of basketball recruitment was because she's undersized, but Poppie has figured out a way to use her — and the core starting group in which Thompson is joined by fellow forward Abbey Cornelius and guards Sigrun Olafsdottir, Addie Porter and Yazz Wazeerud-Din. Collectively, they have played 81% of a possible 3,000 minutes this season and have helped the Mocs to their most nonconference wins since the 2017-18 season despite back-to-back losses at Marshall on Dec. 21 and to Jacksonville State last Thursday at McKenzie Arena.
Thompson, who matched her season high for points with 23 against Marshall, didn't expect to be an immediate part of the equation for Poppie's Mocs. She had waited on her college home to come calling, and UTC eventually did. She thought that the process of getting on the court would be similar.
Now the plans have shifted, though, and she's glad things worked out as they have.
"I just take things step by step," she said. "When I get my chance, I'm going to take advantage of it, but I just enjoy playing ball. Every moment has been a special one, and I'm looking forward to more.
"As a team we just have to finish a lot better and continue to play every possession."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.